Bad blocks are here to stay

THE PROBLEM of defective blocks in houses and public buildings is not going to go away, councillor Alastair Cooper said at the infrastructure committee on Tuesday.

The subject was discussed after a report into the condition of Mossbank Primary School, highlighting problems that first surfaced around 10 years ago.

Blocks in the school and other buildings built in the mid to late 1970s have been found to be losing their strength and crumbling. Samples taken show that blocks under or above the ground can be affected, and they can be individual or groups of blocks.

Head of environment and building services Stephen Cooper said the problem was caused by defective aggregate used in the manufacture of the blocks.

Councillor Bill Manson said he suspected a lot of problems were yet to be revealed because the blocks were behind render and only found when repairs were done. He said a lot of private houses were in this category. Some people had had repairs done on insurance but this route was not open to everyone. He would like the council to define the rights and wrongs in this, he said.

Chairman of the infrastructure committee Allan Wishart said it was a “complex legal issue” as some private houses had changed hands several times and the present owners might find themselves in difficulty.